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Jurors say they are deadlocked in the bribery trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez. Brian Thompson reports.

(Published Monday, Nov. 13, 2017)

What to Know

Sen. Menendez is accused of accepting bribes from Salomon Melgen in exchange for helping his friend with business disputes

Menendez and Melgen had contended in court filings that the gifts were evidence of the pair's longtime friendship, not a corrupt agreement

Both men faced multiple fraud and bribery charges; Menendez had pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing

Jurors say they are deadlocked in the bribery trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez.

The note from the jury came shortly after 2 p.m. Monday, hours into a restart of deliberations necessitated by one juror's pre-scheduled vacation. The jurors said they were unable to reach a unanimous decision any of the charges.

The defense immediately requested a mistrial. The judge denied that request and, as is customary after one deadlock, ordered the group back to deliberations. He did let them go home early, though, telling them to "have a good meal, good sleep and come back" Tuesday to continue.

Earlier Monday, the judge had paused deliberations to take time to individually question a number of jurors who had admitted to either reading or hearing something about the case over the weekend. The juror who was dismissed for her pre-scheduled vacation had made statements saying other jurors had said she couldn't send a note to the court advising the jury was deadlocked, and that she was told "her vote didn't count" because she was going to be released.

Judge Denies Request to Toss Charges Against Menendez

The judge in the bribery trial of U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez on Monday declined to toss out charges against the senator, despite doubts about a legal concept at the heart of the prosecution's case. Brian Thompson reports.

(Published Monday, Oct. 16, 2017)

After questioning the jurors, the judge ordered the group back to deliberations and downplayed defense concern the dismissed woman's comments could have contaminated their discussions.

Menendez is charged with accepting gifts from a wealthy Florida eye doctor in exchange for using his political influence. He is also charged with making false statements for not reporting the gifts on Senate disclosure forms.

Both men deny the allegations. Defense attorneys have sought to show jurors that the two men are longtime friends who exchanged gifts out of friendship. They also contend Menendez's meetings with government officials were focused on broad policy issues.